It's absolutely pouring outside right now (good thing I have the day off from training) and with the rain soaking the ground right now it just made me think about how my body also soaking in all of the training that I have put it through over the past few weeks. I have been lucky enough to have the last three weeks almost completely off from work as I am currently transitioning companies. So with all this time off I have been able to go to Lake Placid for not one but TWO training weekends with my Train This teammates as well as another training weekend in Ludlow Vermont with the QT2 triathlon team. All in all with the addition of the Keuka Triathlon at the beginning of the month, I can say that with absolute certainty June has been the best month of 2010..maybe the best month over the past two years. If it wasn't for the first 15 days of April it might pose a threat to June....but nah..June takes the cake so far. But you know what the best thing is? It's that July will be upon us in only a few short days and July means Ironman #1...what will it bring? I am not sure what will happen yet. Am I a bit nervous? Sure..it's my first Ironman distance race ever, 140.6 miles is a long way, but I have the training, the base, the team, the friends, the coach....in short I have a full support team.
Sooooo....moving on. As I sit here watching and listening to the rain pour down I must say that being able to just sit down and type on my computer is quite relaxing. Since last Thursday I have been going strong and the storm that is my life has finally settled. It ended today with a good session at the Chiropractors where a lot of work (and progress!) was done on my legs which have more knots in them then a 4yr olds shoe lace. That was at 10am..(I "slept in" until 7:30 and then dabbled on my computer checking emails and such for a little while before making a nice berry smoothie for breakfast), after the therapy I headed over to Geneva with my bike to have the guys at the shop take a look at her and make sure everything was in tip top condition being that it has been through a lot over the past few weeks. Placid and Vermont back to back has put a substantial amount of miles on it..along with a substantial amount of rain being dumped on it. Anywho, after I had the biked checked out I headed back to Penn Yan to chill out, so right now its about 3pm and I am hanging...finally just relaxing and letting the body heal, but I am hungry so I am going to grab some food real quick and then get back to this post..
Alright I'm back now. While I was grabbing a bite to eat I remembered about a book that I just purchased on my iPad today, and I wanted to share it with you all since its a very funny, light, and quick read. The book is an autobiography by Steve Martin and its called "Born Standing Up", highly entertaining and one that I highly recommend.
Now that I have caught you all up to speed with what my Monday has been like I'll try to summarize the awesome experience that I had this weekend in Vermont with the QT2 Triathlon team.
On Thursday I started the day off early by leaving for Ludlow, VT around 8:30AM. I arrived in town around 2'ish and grabbed some food. I then proceeded to drive aimlessly around Ludlow looking for the address of the place where I was staying, eventually I found it and around 4 some QT2'ers arrived and the training weekend began. Tim and Cait Snow arrived first, since they were headed out for a bike ride before the rest of the team arrived I jumped at the chance to get a ride in as well and I headed out with Tim on what became about a 2 hour ride, filled with downhills, uphills, rain and rainbows. It was a good ride and a good way to start the weekend. Later that night when the rest of the QT2'ers showed up we all ate Subway and got ready for the training ahead.
Friday brought an easy 2 hour bike ride to begin the day, a nice and easy swim in a nearby lake, and then everyone had their "long run". The best part of this day other than the bike being just a nice easy cruise was that I was actually able to run...and run for a whole hour!
Saturday was jam packed with Triathlon awesomeness. To start the day off with a bang we all traveled to a nearby lake which was located in a state park. Luckily Jesse from QT2 "knows people" and the park was opened early especially for us. Once everyone was properly warmed up we all aligned at a particular buoy and started our 1 mile swim time trial in a mass start format. The best part of this was that we had two wonderful helpers, Mikaela and Chrissie (Jesse's wife) in paddle boats who gave us markers to shoot for. Soooo the course was two loops, I started out hard and knew when I saw Cait snow still by my side that their was no way I would hold this longer than the 50 yards we had just gone, hahaha...i settled into a nice pace which was significantly behind the lead group, although I hung on for the entire time in my own group that was in the "in-between" from the lead group and the larger chase group..i even was able to "drag" a good guy named Ted the whole time as he drafted of me the whole way and then proceeded to drop me with 100 yards left..kudos to him for being smart :) I ended up swimming a 23:57 for the 1 mile distance which made me extremely happy and the tone for the rest of the day/weekend. After the swim we all headed back to town to get ready for our long rides and T runs. Since I decided to take a leak right as everyone took off I spend the first 30 minutes chasing the lead group to catch up with them...why I did this I am not quite sure because I basically ride by myself on long rides anyways. But none the less I wanted to start out with the rest of the pack. I ended up riding with Pat Wheeler (a really good guy, a year older than me who is an outstanding triathlete who has qualified for Kona already this year at St. George and who also won the 18-24AG @ Lake Placid last year with a time of 9:45...that's smoking fast! And he is only getting better. Pat is not only an amazing triathlete but he is a QT2 tri coach who really knows his stuff, I bugged him all weekend by picking his brain but I can honestly say that I learned a ton from him and maybe someday I will be able to join him in Hawaii at race with him there!). Since Pat had a shorter ride in tap for the day he turned around at about the 2:30 mark and i continued on. My ride lasted almost 7 hours and took me through some really nice places like Killington Mt. and even a climb in a really beautiful forest area. Pro triathlete and Ironman Lake Placid Champion Cait Snow was riding up ahead of me (which I must say was freaking cool as hell) so I would periodically see her ahead of me on the long straight aways or something where I could see for miles ahead...haha, none the less it was good motivation. I rode solo for the majority of the ride, which is what I like..makes the ride tougher and builds some mental strength. Don't get me wrong I love the social nature of cycling but when its time to put in the work I like to be solitary as on race day drafting is not allowed and no one will be shooting the s*^& during the race. So to wrap this day up I made it back to Ludlow and ended my ride at about 6hrs and 50 minutes. I jumped into my transition run and hammered out 3 miles. The best part of the whole thing was that my leg that has been bothering me held up the whole time (this after a 1 hr run the previous day) and it was good to go the next day...which brings me to the next day, SUnday!
Sunday I was up early again to have my coffee and eat my breakfast. Around 7:30 I had the chance to get an amazing massage on my legs from a group in Boston that is associated with the QT2 Team. It really is pretty awesome when you can just train all weekend, hang with awesome people, put a ton of miles on your bike and legs, and then just grab a massage and do it all over again. So yeah, I had a nice massage on Sunday morning and then got ready to head out with the crew for a recovery ride that just so happened to have a 6.3mile uphill time trial sandwiched into it. I can honestly say that as Pat and I made our way out to the TT course together, the 1 hr easy ride alone was pretty taxing on our tired legs and a time trial up a hill really didn't seem all that appealing. But I mean when you have 20 other people getting ready to hammer up the hill along side you it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get motivated. We ended up drawing numbers and heading off up the hill TT style, 30 seconds apart. I was 4th to go and finished with a respectable 25:11 effort. The funny thing is that I didn't use my garmin for this since I didn't have my power meter or my cadence sensor hooked up to my road bike..so I had no clue how much farther the course was when I was riding. I say that this is funny because I truly thought I had another mile left when I finished the TT...if I had known that I would have spent myself a bit more at the end..but it really doesn't matter. I still taxed my body in a good way and got one hell of a workout...no complaints here, I had an absolute blast. I think the best part of the TT was about 1/2 way when Jesse passed me like a bolt of lighting...and he started 3 places back of me, which is 1min and 30 seconds behind me. However, I kept Jesse in my sights for the rest of the climb which made me feel good, I think he served as sort of a carrot for me to chase. I wish I had started behind him, oh well...next time I'll be stronger :) It was all in good fun though, and just like the rest of the weekend I had an absolute blast. After the TT we all headed back to town and most all jumped into a short transition run to end the day. I was able to run for almost an hour and was extremely excited that my body held up! After that the group met up for one last time before everyone headed home. We all voted for the "most outstanding camper" and Tim Tappley, who is an absolute monster rightfully was voted as the champ. I mean I voted for him so he better have won! The guy absolutely crushed the swim TT with a 21 minute performance (which I was told a huge performance from just 2-3 years prior when the swim was really his weakness). Tim also smoked everyone in the bike TT with a 22:05 performance, winning by over a minute against the rest of us! What is exceptionally impressive about the fact that he had a great TT effort is that he rode for 7 hours plus with Tim Snow the day before. They were so far ahead of me that I literally never saw them...what studs! Hope I can ride with them someday...and not slow them down. I just wanted to add that Tim Tapply is a really great guy who answered many many questions that I had. I picked his brain relentlessly and he was more than happy to humor me. This camp was not only great for the training but great because of all the people I got to meet like Tim....and all the others who I won't name for fear that'd I'd leave them out.
Swim TT Results
Bike TT Results
So in summary I just wanted to thank Jesse and his QT2 team for having me up to Vermont with them. I had an absolute blast and learned a ton. I feel ready for Lake Placid and I can't wait to see all my new QT2 friends up there during race week....and of course on the course during race day! It's going to be one heck of week and one amazing day on July 25th. BRING IT ON!
-Turbo
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Big Day Ahead
Here I am, its around 5:30am up here in VT at the QT2 camp and I am already nursing my second cup of coffee. Unlike the usual mornings where I am sitting alone in my apartment or something I am currently joined by a super nice QT2 fellow named Ted. Ted and I are both early risers so its nice to have someone up and about in the early hours. Coach Eggers is an early riser as well so when we were in Placid last weekend that was also nice since she'd already be out on the porch chipping away at her computer when I got up. Eventually we'd make our way down to the local starbucks at 6am where we would help open up the store and buy 2 giant coffees.
I just posted this on twitter but I think I kind of came up with my motto for waking up early most every day, and it is:
"I wake up early almost every day purely to enjoy my cup or cups of coffee in the peace and serenity of the wee hours as well as to drink my coffee at my own leisure without the stress of being behind schedule"
On the agenda today is a timed 1 mile swim. This should be interesting as I have never really swam any type of distance in a timed fashion other than the beginning leg of a triathlon. I'll admit that I am a bit nervous as I don't want to really stink at it but my swim has definitely improved over the last year so all I can do is go out there and go as hard as I can for 1 mile and see where I am at. From there all I have to do is improve...that's the easy part right!
After the swim everyone will be heading back into town (the lake is about 5 miles out of town at a State Park) and getting ready to head out on their bikes for their "long ride". I love that term...the "long ride", triathletes will seldomly actually say the hours that will be ridden during their "long ride" and usually its not because they are embarrassed by the brief nature of it. If it was only a 2-3 hour ride it would be deemed a "recovery ride", for most people a 2-3 hour ride would be well...LONG...however most triathletes will simply say they have a long ride on tap and then hop on the bike for between 6-7 hours. I think triathletes in general learned a long time ago that instead of answering the millions of questions about their sanity, etc when they say their riding their bike for 6-7 hours straight they just say "Yeah, I've got a Long Ride today" and just leave it at that. This leaves the questioning person guessing as to what exactly they mean and usually further Q&A is avoided, thus allowing the triathlete to go on their way and get their ride in before either:
A. The rain front comes in,
B. Your kid's graduation ceremony wraps up or
C. Your wife leaves the restaurant where you were supposed to have your anniversary dinner...but I've got to say that most triathletes should be aware that missing an anniversary dinner or forgetting this could have great repercussions as such a mistake like this could hinder the purchase of a new tri bike or race wheelset for a good 2-3 years, I would advise that all athletes schedule a mandatory rest day on their anniversary and other super huge important days just to be on the safe side.
Alas, I make these comments without being married, without a girlfriend, without children, but I do follow the weather...but what I mean is I make this comments purely with the intention of trying to be humorous...I am not quite sure if I am, but hey at least I am trying.
Hmm..where was I. So yeah, a long bike ride is on tap for this afternoon...by long I am referring to about 6-7 hours on the bike with a 30 minute transition run after. The weather report looks a bit sketchy as the rain seems to be coming in around 10-11am..just about when we will all begin our rides, should be interesting. However, I am forever an optimist and I have the high hopes that the rain will not come and that we shall all complete our long rides on dry roads and with dry clothes :) None the less I just hope that everyone keeps two wheels firmly planted on the ground and no major spills occur...that's the worst!
For now I must go...I have to get my body awake and my things together. It's a big day, in fact its one of my last big training days before Lake Placid which is a month away, sounds silly but as we are 4 weeks out this means taper time is getting close. Plus in two weeks I will be racing a sprint triathlon so that weekend is already taken up thus leaving 3 weekends of training and 2 of those will be filled with mandatory rest....Oh boy, the big day is fast approaching.
I just posted this on twitter but I think I kind of came up with my motto for waking up early most every day, and it is:
"I wake up early almost every day purely to enjoy my cup or cups of coffee in the peace and serenity of the wee hours as well as to drink my coffee at my own leisure without the stress of being behind schedule"
On the agenda today is a timed 1 mile swim. This should be interesting as I have never really swam any type of distance in a timed fashion other than the beginning leg of a triathlon. I'll admit that I am a bit nervous as I don't want to really stink at it but my swim has definitely improved over the last year so all I can do is go out there and go as hard as I can for 1 mile and see where I am at. From there all I have to do is improve...that's the easy part right!
After the swim everyone will be heading back into town (the lake is about 5 miles out of town at a State Park) and getting ready to head out on their bikes for their "long ride". I love that term...the "long ride", triathletes will seldomly actually say the hours that will be ridden during their "long ride" and usually its not because they are embarrassed by the brief nature of it. If it was only a 2-3 hour ride it would be deemed a "recovery ride", for most people a 2-3 hour ride would be well...LONG...however most triathletes will simply say they have a long ride on tap and then hop on the bike for between 6-7 hours. I think triathletes in general learned a long time ago that instead of answering the millions of questions about their sanity, etc when they say their riding their bike for 6-7 hours straight they just say "Yeah, I've got a Long Ride today" and just leave it at that. This leaves the questioning person guessing as to what exactly they mean and usually further Q&A is avoided, thus allowing the triathlete to go on their way and get their ride in before either:
A. The rain front comes in,
B. Your kid's graduation ceremony wraps up or
C. Your wife leaves the restaurant where you were supposed to have your anniversary dinner...but I've got to say that most triathletes should be aware that missing an anniversary dinner or forgetting this could have great repercussions as such a mistake like this could hinder the purchase of a new tri bike or race wheelset for a good 2-3 years, I would advise that all athletes schedule a mandatory rest day on their anniversary and other super huge important days just to be on the safe side.
Alas, I make these comments without being married, without a girlfriend, without children, but I do follow the weather...but what I mean is I make this comments purely with the intention of trying to be humorous...I am not quite sure if I am, but hey at least I am trying.
Hmm..where was I. So yeah, a long bike ride is on tap for this afternoon...by long I am referring to about 6-7 hours on the bike with a 30 minute transition run after. The weather report looks a bit sketchy as the rain seems to be coming in around 10-11am..just about when we will all begin our rides, should be interesting. However, I am forever an optimist and I have the high hopes that the rain will not come and that we shall all complete our long rides on dry roads and with dry clothes :) None the less I just hope that everyone keeps two wheels firmly planted on the ground and no major spills occur...that's the worst!
For now I must go...I have to get my body awake and my things together. It's a big day, in fact its one of my last big training days before Lake Placid which is a month away, sounds silly but as we are 4 weeks out this means taper time is getting close. Plus in two weeks I will be racing a sprint triathlon so that weekend is already taken up thus leaving 3 weekends of training and 2 of those will be filled with mandatory rest....Oh boy, the big day is fast approaching.
Friday, June 25, 2010
The Calm Before the Storm
I will probably use this blog post title more than once over the next 4 weeks. I think it to be quite relevant in the broad scheme of things to come in near future for my triathlete friends as well as myself. We've all put in an enormous amount of time and effort into our training over the past 10-12 months. It's literally been a whole year in the making. Well that's just for me since this is my first, so I guess you could say that for many people its been multiple years in the making. But just think about where we all were about a year ago. For me personally I was about to do my second triathlon ever, a sprint tri in Buffalo called the Quakerman. Although it is but a small race in the grand scheme of things I think I placed third in my AG and they gave me a trophy. Well slap me on the butt and call me silly but when I get something along the lines of a trophy or a plaque, no matter if I was an overall winner or just a participant, I am going to be the happiest boy in town. So I think it was also around this time where I got up the nerve and got one of the last spots in the Musselman 1/2 Ironman race in Geneva. I literally had no idea what I was doing at the time but I knew that anything with the word Ironman in it (relating to Triathlon, and well cartoons for that matter) WAS FREAKING COOL AS ALL GET OUT! So I just jumped in the race and figured I'd give it my best shot. The race was a lot of firsts for me, the first time I swam the 1/2 distance, biked the bike distance at a high intensity level (previously my longest rides consisted of two practice runs of the route the two weekends before the race with my good buddy Joe Crispino who got me hooked in this whole endurance sports game, Thanks for making me broke Joe :) haha..wouldn't trade it for anything). So yeah to make a long race recap story short I'll just say that it hurt. I thought all was going well until about mile 8 or 9 on the 1/2 marathon. I had never run this long in my life and never run this long on a run that had so many darn hills. The last 3 miles or so are on a pancake flat section that runs along the edge of the lake and well I felt like I was running in molasses, I just could not move the legs. I was alone and contemplated walking for a bit, but I knew if I completely stopped the legs I would never get them moving again. Alas I made it to the finish line, collected my sweet finishers medal (a small chain ring..very cool idea!) and then proceeded to have some of the worst pains in my legs I have ever felt, I also had a ton of salt residue on my body, something that I had never experienced before in my life and something that I have since not experienced again, hopefully I won't either as I know that this is something that I can control by monitoring my salt intake and utilizing salt tabs on long race days. There ya go, my first try at a real big triathlon..a total time of 5:28 with a run pace of over 9 minutes...YUCK! Thankfully I found Mary Eggers who helped me figure some things out over the winter and in a matter of a few months I put up a 4:45 down in Galveston, Texas this past April. I truly hope that I am only scratching the surface here and can really improve on my performance in Texas, I KNOW I CAN! The thing is..I really went all in to the Ironman game and signed up for not 1 but 2 ironman distance races this year (Placid and Florida). Probably a stupid beginners move but hey if you wanna qualify and then race in Kona you have to do 2 Ironman distances in one year anyways so I mean why not start practicing now so I can nail it in the future, haha! But anyways I am going to see how everything turns out this year. I have been battling some injuries over the past few months and I just want to be healthy going into Placid in 4 weeks, thats the main goal. Then I will go on a 2 week mandatory rest and assess my situation. I may not even race again until the end of September when the 1/2 Ironman in Syracuse, NY takes place. This year is all about testing the waters and seeing what its all about. As of now I think that I am going to totally focus on the 70.3 (1/2 Ironman) distances next year and really try to improve upon my speed. Maybe I will even head to Oceanside or Eagleman and try to claim a spot for Kona in the 70.3 distance...you never know right? Everyone's gotta have dreams and aspirations! But this will all be throught about after Placid, after I take my body through the hurtlocker, hahahaah!
On we go...
Yes, today is truly one of those "Calm before the Storm days". I am up here in Ludlow, VT with the QT2 triathlon team. These guys seem to have an amazing system going. Obviously my own coach Mary Eggers is a firm believer and you can tell that just by what she says like in her blog or whatnot. But everyone that I have met up here that is a member of the team is fully on-board with the "protocol" its very cool to see. So the place that they have put me up in is one of two townhouses that the team has rented out this weekend. Its sooooo cool! It's just a huge townhouse place with tons of furnished rooms, multiple kitchens and bathroom, tv's, wireless internet, etc...etc...I think it is mainly set up for huge parties to come up here and stay in the winter while they are here to ski at the nearby ski resort. Ludlow, VT as you would probably guess is definitely a ski town and I can only imagine that being here during the winter would be killer as it is a totally small, quaint little town that probably knows how to have a ton of fun.
I got in here yesterday afternoon, had some lunch and drove around the area to get a lay of the land. After getting lost and finding my way back again I lounged in my car and waited for the "Bostonians" as the whole team is from the Boston area, to arrive. Tim and Cait Snow both who are both professional triathletes and both QT2 coaches arrived first. I had never met them before but they were totally cool and introduced themselves to me as well as invited me to come along on a bike ride with them as they were gonna head out for a couple hours before the rest of the crew got in. Well I am never going to turn down going for a bike ride, let alone turn down an offer to head out with someone with as much experience and pedigree as Tim Snow. So out we went, Cait (who is preparing once again to win Placid, oh yeah..did I mention she has freaking won the whole darn race! Yeah..that's badass!..she just got a new bike so she is out to kill it this year!) turned and went a different direction than Tim and I. I stayed with Tim and we headed out for what would be about a 2 hour ride. I must say that it is exceptionally beautiful up here in VT. Lots of streams, hills, rocks, Mountains, etc...For the first hour we were pretty much going at a really good clip since it was downhill and with the wind. Although it started raining a bunch at various times during the ride it really wasn't that bad, kinda of cooled things off and also produced this magnificent piece of scenery that I captured with my water logged iPhone, thankfully it still worked then and is still working now :) But check this out...
Tim and I searched for the pot o gold at the end of the rainbow but alas we could not find the end..sneaky rainbow! I blame the Lucky Charms guy for messing with us. However, Ken a Train This teammate gave me a tip about where the pot o gold was, he said that it was at the finish line of IMLP..so now I have some motivation (not that I didn't have any before, haha) and I am definitely going to go as fast as possible so nobody gets to that gold before me!
Well I could go on and on but I need to get ready for the day, 1 cup of coffee down, time to finish breakfast and get the bike ready for a nice Friday morning ride with the new crew. I am really looking forward to learning a TON this weekend, its going to be so much fun!
On tap for the day is I think 2-3 hours on the bike, a swim time trial (ut oh!) and then a run. Details to come later.
Have a great day everyone!
-Turbo
On we go...
Yes, today is truly one of those "Calm before the Storm days". I am up here in Ludlow, VT with the QT2 triathlon team. These guys seem to have an amazing system going. Obviously my own coach Mary Eggers is a firm believer and you can tell that just by what she says like in her blog or whatnot. But everyone that I have met up here that is a member of the team is fully on-board with the "protocol" its very cool to see. So the place that they have put me up in is one of two townhouses that the team has rented out this weekend. Its sooooo cool! It's just a huge townhouse place with tons of furnished rooms, multiple kitchens and bathroom, tv's, wireless internet, etc...etc...I think it is mainly set up for huge parties to come up here and stay in the winter while they are here to ski at the nearby ski resort. Ludlow, VT as you would probably guess is definitely a ski town and I can only imagine that being here during the winter would be killer as it is a totally small, quaint little town that probably knows how to have a ton of fun.
I got in here yesterday afternoon, had some lunch and drove around the area to get a lay of the land. After getting lost and finding my way back again I lounged in my car and waited for the "Bostonians" as the whole team is from the Boston area, to arrive. Tim and Cait Snow both who are both professional triathletes and both QT2 coaches arrived first. I had never met them before but they were totally cool and introduced themselves to me as well as invited me to come along on a bike ride with them as they were gonna head out for a couple hours before the rest of the crew got in. Well I am never going to turn down going for a bike ride, let alone turn down an offer to head out with someone with as much experience and pedigree as Tim Snow. So out we went, Cait (who is preparing once again to win Placid, oh yeah..did I mention she has freaking won the whole darn race! Yeah..that's badass!..she just got a new bike so she is out to kill it this year!) turned and went a different direction than Tim and I. I stayed with Tim and we headed out for what would be about a 2 hour ride. I must say that it is exceptionally beautiful up here in VT. Lots of streams, hills, rocks, Mountains, etc...For the first hour we were pretty much going at a really good clip since it was downhill and with the wind. Although it started raining a bunch at various times during the ride it really wasn't that bad, kinda of cooled things off and also produced this magnificent piece of scenery that I captured with my water logged iPhone, thankfully it still worked then and is still working now :) But check this out...
Tim and I searched for the pot o gold at the end of the rainbow but alas we could not find the end..sneaky rainbow! I blame the Lucky Charms guy for messing with us. However, Ken a Train This teammate gave me a tip about where the pot o gold was, he said that it was at the finish line of IMLP..so now I have some motivation (not that I didn't have any before, haha) and I am definitely going to go as fast as possible so nobody gets to that gold before me!
Well I could go on and on but I need to get ready for the day, 1 cup of coffee down, time to finish breakfast and get the bike ready for a nice Friday morning ride with the new crew. I am really looking forward to learning a TON this weekend, its going to be so much fun!
On tap for the day is I think 2-3 hours on the bike, a swim time trial (ut oh!) and then a run. Details to come later.
Have a great day everyone!
-Turbo
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Travel Day
Today is a very exciting day! I am headed to Ludlow, Vermont for a weekend of Triathlon fun with the QT2 Triathlon team. I was lucky enough to have one of their stud triathlete/coach contact me as see if I wanted to join them for the camp. They had a couple slots open after all their team members signed up so they were looking for some other people to fill the slots. Well I was more than happy to jump on board, I mean who wouldn't want to hang out and train for triathlon all weekend with dedicated triathletes! And these people with QT2 are legit! Their will probably be top pro's in attendance, The "Wizard" aka Jesse, aka Mary Eggers coach will be there, and oh yeah the kid that contacted me who is just 1 year older than me has already qualified for Kona this year at the tough St. George IM back in May. And oh by the way he took 1st in the 18-24yr old AG at Lake Placid last year and went to Kona. So he knows what it takes. You should check him out, he will probably be a big name pro in the near future, hears his blog --> Pat Wheeler's Blog. With that said I must say that I really cannot wait to pick Pat's brain about anything and everything triathlon and in particular how he approached the Lake Placid Ironman as he obviously dominated it last year. Plus I will get to be coached and get to pick the brains of some top triathletes all weekend long...ITS GONNA BE AMAZING!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday Snoozeday
I am now officially unemployed until July 6th when my new position at Dejoy, Knauf, and Blood begins. I have spent the last two years with PwC and have had many many experiences in the big corporate world of public accounting. The big accounting firms truly do have a lot to offer when it comes to starting people off on their career paths and for that I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to begin my own career with them. With that said, I am also extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my professional career which will begin to focus more on personal taxation. I am looking forward to really learning and getting to know the ins and out of this area and I hope I can really use it for some good!
So that's my work related post...now onto the exciting life of an unemployed 24 year old triathlete who is resting up for fun filled weekend of swimming, biking and running with the QT2 Triathlon Team in Ludlow, Vermont. I am currently residing in the metropolis of Penn Yan, NY and in more specific, lying in bed at the Turbo Curbeau headquarters (aka Curbeau Realty Office - second floor - parents temperpedic bed..the best is like sitting on a cloud send down from heaven). Anywho, yesterday was a bit busy and had me on my feet all day as I was a spotter at a Charity Golf Event. I was on the morning crew so I had to be at the club around 6am, which meant waking up at around 5am..which normally wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that I had just returned home from Placid at around 9pm or so..then unpacked and such and finally got to bed around 11pm. This was also after a super fantastic weekend of training so I was pretty tired. None the less I continued on and after I turned in all my computer stuff and everything at work I stopped by the bike shop and proceeded to hang out there until they closed up shop around 8pm. They hooked my bike up with a new cassette that will allow me to spin up those Lake Placid hills with a bit more ease and thus give me a little more spring in my step when I crush the marathon. I ended up hitting Wegmans on the way home for some dinner and made it into Penn Yan around 10pm...in bed around 11:30. Sooo what I am getting at is that I need sleep and so I slept till 7:30 and then had some therapy on the leg and such and came right back to the office and have since been just resting and relaxing. I normally cannot take a nap on days when I am just doing nothing but today I was so tired that I snuck in a 2 and 1/2 hour nap. Usually just the laying down with my feet up is the only thing I can do..and thats good, but to actually get a nap in, well that's just icing on the cake. And in conclusion I am thankful that my nice coach Mary gave me both Yesterday and today completely off from training. Both my body and mind needed it!
Tomorrow I have a little open water swimming on tap, and the big question is when and where? I am hoping that some people will be swimming at Kershaw Park tomorrow but I am not sure yet..time will tell. If not I am lucky to have a little lake called Keuka Lake in my backyard here in Penn Yan, so I really can't lose.
Since I'll actually be out of the house and stuff tomorrow and moving around I will be motivated to post a better blogging than this but for now I am still tired and I am going to continue to watch tv and be lazy. I don't know when I will get this chance again...Smoke em if you got em right?
-Turbo
So that's my work related post...now onto the exciting life of an unemployed 24 year old triathlete who is resting up for fun filled weekend of swimming, biking and running with the QT2 Triathlon Team in Ludlow, Vermont. I am currently residing in the metropolis of Penn Yan, NY and in more specific, lying in bed at the Turbo Curbeau headquarters (aka Curbeau Realty Office - second floor - parents temperpedic bed..the best is like sitting on a cloud send down from heaven). Anywho, yesterday was a bit busy and had me on my feet all day as I was a spotter at a Charity Golf Event. I was on the morning crew so I had to be at the club around 6am, which meant waking up at around 5am..which normally wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that I had just returned home from Placid at around 9pm or so..then unpacked and such and finally got to bed around 11pm. This was also after a super fantastic weekend of training so I was pretty tired. None the less I continued on and after I turned in all my computer stuff and everything at work I stopped by the bike shop and proceeded to hang out there until they closed up shop around 8pm. They hooked my bike up with a new cassette that will allow me to spin up those Lake Placid hills with a bit more ease and thus give me a little more spring in my step when I crush the marathon. I ended up hitting Wegmans on the way home for some dinner and made it into Penn Yan around 10pm...in bed around 11:30. Sooo what I am getting at is that I need sleep and so I slept till 7:30 and then had some therapy on the leg and such and came right back to the office and have since been just resting and relaxing. I normally cannot take a nap on days when I am just doing nothing but today I was so tired that I snuck in a 2 and 1/2 hour nap. Usually just the laying down with my feet up is the only thing I can do..and thats good, but to actually get a nap in, well that's just icing on the cake. And in conclusion I am thankful that my nice coach Mary gave me both Yesterday and today completely off from training. Both my body and mind needed it!
Tomorrow I have a little open water swimming on tap, and the big question is when and where? I am hoping that some people will be swimming at Kershaw Park tomorrow but I am not sure yet..time will tell. If not I am lucky to have a little lake called Keuka Lake in my backyard here in Penn Yan, so I really can't lose.
Since I'll actually be out of the house and stuff tomorrow and moving around I will be motivated to post a better blogging than this but for now I am still tired and I am going to continue to watch tv and be lazy. I don't know when I will get this chance again...Smoke em if you got em right?
-Turbo
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Status Update
Well its Sunday morning here in Lake Placid. I am now firmly planted in the Main Street Starbucks awaiting to hear back from Corona who is out on his long run. We met up around 6 this morning, drank some coffee, and hopped on our bikes for a little 1 hr recovery ride. Recovery was the key word. We circled Mirror Lake a bunch of times and tooled around through town watching all the Marathon people get geared up to run. The atmosphere definitely picked up the last two days as the marathoners and other training triathletes appeared. It gave me a glimpse of what race week will be like in July. I can only imagine that the energy in this little town is going to be spiked! I am going to drink up every second of it and even bottle some of it up for during that last 11 miles on the bike, and of course that little thing called a marathon.
I must confess that although this weekend in Placid was absolute bliss that I am a bit disappointed in my performance. I felt good on Friday as I tackled a 2hr bike ride which was about 40 something miles with hills over the last section of the Ironman bike loop as well as swimming 3.6 miles. However, the cumulative training that I've put in caught up with me during the long ride on Saturday. I made it through the first loop without any issues other than the fact that it was raining the whole time and pretty darn cold on those descents. However, the whole second loop was a struggle to hold a decent pace. I was definitely working hard! None the less I made it back and attempted a run off the bike. I was extremely pleased to be able to hit the roads and run for about 3 miles without any pain. I got some food, rested up and swam another loop of the lake course in the evening...and that was that. A good hard training day that got the best of me. The fact that I could run off the bike really made me happy, however this morning after I got off the recovery ride I tried to go on a 40 minute run and my leg just wasn't having it. The Achilles/calve thing tightened up and told me that it just didn't want to do any work today. I listened to my body and called the run off..which leads me to now. As I said in the beginning I am in Starbucks waiting for Corona to get back from his long 2:30 run (man I wish I could be out there too...although that's really long I probably wouldn't last, haha) So yeah I'm having a nice coffee to warm me up before we will both jump in the lake for one last time this weekend before heading home.
I must confess that although this weekend in Placid was absolute bliss that I am a bit disappointed in my performance. I felt good on Friday as I tackled a 2hr bike ride which was about 40 something miles with hills over the last section of the Ironman bike loop as well as swimming 3.6 miles. However, the cumulative training that I've put in caught up with me during the long ride on Saturday. I made it through the first loop without any issues other than the fact that it was raining the whole time and pretty darn cold on those descents. However, the whole second loop was a struggle to hold a decent pace. I was definitely working hard! None the less I made it back and attempted a run off the bike. I was extremely pleased to be able to hit the roads and run for about 3 miles without any pain. I got some food, rested up and swam another loop of the lake course in the evening...and that was that. A good hard training day that got the best of me. The fact that I could run off the bike really made me happy, however this morning after I got off the recovery ride I tried to go on a 40 minute run and my leg just wasn't having it. The Achilles/calve thing tightened up and told me that it just didn't want to do any work today. I listened to my body and called the run off..which leads me to now. As I said in the beginning I am in Starbucks waiting for Corona to get back from his long 2:30 run (man I wish I could be out there too...although that's really long I probably wouldn't last, haha) So yeah I'm having a nice coffee to warm me up before we will both jump in the lake for one last time this weekend before heading home.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Paradise Revisited
I've now made the trek to Lake Placid 5 times in the last year. Well I guess you could say 6 since I did come up here with my parents when I was a wee child. Back then I skied with my Mom on Whiteface, watched the Harlem Globetrotters play basketball, and skated on the Olympic Rink. I must have been about 10 or 11 years old but I can honestly say that I loved it here in Lake Placid. In fact, I loved it pretty much everyone my parents have taken me. If I can take a bit of a detour from my Lake Placid inspired post I want to say thanks to my parents. I want to thank them for all the long-weekend trips that we took back in the day. The trips to Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, etc. Yes, I have been blessed to have traveled predominantly with my mom literally all over the world. Growing up with older siblings and relatives that spread out all over the globe from Colorado to Japan to Australia gave me the chance to see the world at a very young age. Let's face it, I was spoiled rotten. By the age of 12 I had been to more distant places that most people had been in their whole lives. That's just the way it went. I did not grow up with a brother or sister who lived with me and I grew up living in the upstairs of a real estate office...thus my childhood was a bit different than most. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I had so many unique experiences, I mean just think...I was best friends with the kid whose parents ran the go-kart track right down the road from my parents office/my home, I was babysat (aka roller bladed with) by a kid named Cable Doyle. If your from Penn Yan and know who that is you will get a kick out of that. So yeah I can remember going Horseback riding with my mom in New Hampshire, going to the big LLBean store in Freeport Main, riding the Cog railway, skiing Whiteface Mountain..and the list goes on. Nowadays I do more traveling on my own since I am now a very old 24 years old but looking ahead I can't wait to have my parents join me up here in Lake Placid during Ironman Lake Placid race week. I have never experienced the race week up here but from what I hear its absolutely electric, and thats good to hear because I really light up from the people around me. I am like a sponge when it comes to that type of atmosphere, I can literally suck in the energy from all those around me and store it right in my body...and you know I will surely need it during those last 11 miles on the bike and pretty much for the entire 26.2 of the Marathon! Alright I'll get back to my original post now.
What I began writing about today was in retrospect to all the trips that I have made to Lake Placid over the past year. I guess this whole journey all began almost 1 year ago (the day after IMLP 2009). It was July 2009 and I had just began my triathlon career. I was digging it and drinking it all in. I had just finished my first 1/2 distance at the local Musselman Tri in Geneva, NY..which was tough! Anyway, the Lake Placid Ironman was in the back of my mind and it was kind of like a joke when I thought about actually doing it, but if you know me when I get something in my mind and I really want it or and intrigued by it...its just going bug the hell out of me until I scratch that itch..be it bikes, cars, shoes...whatever. So anyway last July I was out in Denver during the IMLP race weekend. I was there for the wedding of a family friend. Denver is way cool by the way, the rents and I caught a Rockies game, enjoyed downtown Denver, and were able to be present at an absolutely gorgeous wedding. Well the whole time I kept thinking that on Monday, the day after we would get back (the wedding was on Saturday and we were flying back Sunday, scheduled to touch down in Rochester at 10:30PM). Well...leave it to me to just bug the hell out of myself until I just did it. I knew that if you were at Lake Placid the day after the race you could get in line and sign up for the race next year after all the volunteers had their chance. Leave it to wacky triathletes to wait in a 7 hour line to sign up for an event that takes place the following year..and here is the kickers..we are gladly willing to plop down almost $600 dollars for race entry and then go to the local hotel and get a hotel for a mandatory 5 day stay in which the bill is well over $1k...and were are grinning from ear to ear the whole dang time! I LOVE IT, haha. Thankfully my father needs to be properly situated when staying at hotels (aka he needs a comfy hotel bed, a clean room/bathroom, good tv with cable which includes the Golf Channel and Speed Network, etc..)so naturally my mom and I searched out for one of the better hotels in Placid, and I think we found one in the Golden Arrow. The place is pretty swank and is located right on the LP Main Street..right across the road from where Cusetri is staying..which is cool. And btw, Cusetri just confirmed that he got the ok from Ms. Cusetri to travel with TurboCurbeau up to Lake Placid a day early (the wed before, since his hotel reservation doesn't start until thurs). This is cool because the drive to LP can be boring and it will be nice to have a co-pilot. Plus, I am going to need someone to keep me occupied leading up to the race..I mean other than watching the tour de france what the hell am I going to do with myself as I won't be able to go for 3 hr bike rides...So anyway, I got off the plane in Rochester around 10:30PM and hightailed it through the night to Lake Placid. I arrived somewhere around 4:30am and proceeded to sit in line until 12:30pm when at that time I was able to sign up for the race..and are you ready for the kick in the pants. A number of my friends were able to sign up on the internet just a couple hours later from the comfort of their homes. Usually their are only a few slots left that go to the internet, so its your best bet to register in person...well I guess not this year as they registered from home...and me I was in Lake Placid, sleep deprived but still smiling from ear to ear. I was not mad, it was just another journey in the life that is Turbo. So that was definitely an adventure, and a fun one at that. It seemed so long ago that I signed up for this race and now here we are, my friends (teammates)and about 2500 other people..just 5 weeks out from the race. Personally I've been dealing with some injuries that have hindered my running..but whatever will just see what everything is like on race day and go from there..either way I am going to have one hell of day on July 25th..I am going to be able to race with almost 3,000 people and most importantly with my fellow Train This teammates. We have all been through a great year of training together and its going to be special to see all of them on the course going after it!..and just imagine what the finish line is going to be like...the truth is I can't imagine, I am just going to soak it all in and just be in the moment...its going to be absolutely amazing!
So that was my first trip back to LP. Since then I have been up here with my friend Joe Crispino. We came up last August after we had both signed up for the race. He took me on the bike course, 2 loops, and as this was my first time doing that distance..I was rocked after it...my legs felt like they wanted to just fall off...but it was a good pain, that's for sure. Then in October I was able to have one of those long weekends with my parents (the ones we had when I was in school) up here as they came up and spent a few days in the great outdoors while I rode my bike and ran around up here in Lake Placid, that was cool! Then fast forward to Spring 2010, last weekend I was up here with my buddy Mike "Cusetri" Corona. We had a great time getting some training in, even if I about bonked off my bike while Cusetri proceeded to crush everything in sight. Oh well, I think I was just tired..I can't wait to tackle some awesome training this weekend, Ive rested up this week with minimal training and I feel that I am primed for some great training. Sidenote: Corona and his brother are racing a sprint tri this weekend and it is Corona's brothers first one ever! I wish him all the best and I hope he kicks butt! Then this weekend I am back up here in this paradise that is Lake Placid. I will be meeting up with a ton of fellow teammates from the Train This tri team that is coached by Mary Eggers. It is going to be hell of weekend. There is going to be a ton of energy from all the people..and you know what that means...it means that all the energy is going to be soaked up by me and utilized on the course...I love this stuff! Already two teammates have arrived. The original Bromantic partners (Chris and Don) arrived at about midnight to the palatial Alpine Air Motel. They had been very generous and allowed me to stay in their room last night so I was nestled in the corner of the room sleeping when they arrived. We greeted each other and then proceeded to pass back out till morning. And here I am, its about 7:20am and Im getting my coffee and breakfast in before I hit Mirror Lake for an easy morning swim to get the blood flowing. After that I believe Chris, Don, and I are going to relax by watching the USA in the FIFA world cup..honestly I am not that interested in the soccer game but it will be nice to just hang with the boys...to not have any other responsibilities other than to rest up for all the training that we will be doing this weekend. Plus I am going to work on getting my bike all set up for the weekend...yeah...I LOVE THIS STUFF!
So that's it for now folks, I am going to finish my coffee and take a dip in the lake and then chill...until 3pm when its time for 2hr bike and another 1 hr swim, followed by some serious carb loading for dinner..
btw, I just saw a guy with (no joke) a mullet, a truker hat, a mustache, cut off jean shorts (cut by himself), high white tube socks, and some old black shoes..this is all from one person...HALARIOUS!
-Explain different trips
-Explain Newton Falls Detour
-All the people on their bikes that I saw this morning alone.
What I began writing about today was in retrospect to all the trips that I have made to Lake Placid over the past year. I guess this whole journey all began almost 1 year ago (the day after IMLP 2009). It was July 2009 and I had just began my triathlon career. I was digging it and drinking it all in. I had just finished my first 1/2 distance at the local Musselman Tri in Geneva, NY..which was tough! Anyway, the Lake Placid Ironman was in the back of my mind and it was kind of like a joke when I thought about actually doing it, but if you know me when I get something in my mind and I really want it or and intrigued by it...its just going bug the hell out of me until I scratch that itch..be it bikes, cars, shoes...whatever. So anyway last July I was out in Denver during the IMLP race weekend. I was there for the wedding of a family friend. Denver is way cool by the way, the rents and I caught a Rockies game, enjoyed downtown Denver, and were able to be present at an absolutely gorgeous wedding. Well the whole time I kept thinking that on Monday, the day after we would get back (the wedding was on Saturday and we were flying back Sunday, scheduled to touch down in Rochester at 10:30PM). Well...leave it to me to just bug the hell out of myself until I just did it. I knew that if you were at Lake Placid the day after the race you could get in line and sign up for the race next year after all the volunteers had their chance. Leave it to wacky triathletes to wait in a 7 hour line to sign up for an event that takes place the following year..and here is the kickers..we are gladly willing to plop down almost $600 dollars for race entry and then go to the local hotel and get a hotel for a mandatory 5 day stay in which the bill is well over $1k...and were are grinning from ear to ear the whole dang time! I LOVE IT, haha. Thankfully my father needs to be properly situated when staying at hotels (aka he needs a comfy hotel bed, a clean room/bathroom, good tv with cable which includes the Golf Channel and Speed Network, etc..)so naturally my mom and I searched out for one of the better hotels in Placid, and I think we found one in the Golden Arrow. The place is pretty swank and is located right on the LP Main Street..right across the road from where Cusetri is staying..which is cool. And btw, Cusetri just confirmed that he got the ok from Ms. Cusetri to travel with TurboCurbeau up to Lake Placid a day early (the wed before, since his hotel reservation doesn't start until thurs). This is cool because the drive to LP can be boring and it will be nice to have a co-pilot. Plus, I am going to need someone to keep me occupied leading up to the race..I mean other than watching the tour de france what the hell am I going to do with myself as I won't be able to go for 3 hr bike rides...So anyway, I got off the plane in Rochester around 10:30PM and hightailed it through the night to Lake Placid. I arrived somewhere around 4:30am and proceeded to sit in line until 12:30pm when at that time I was able to sign up for the race..and are you ready for the kick in the pants. A number of my friends were able to sign up on the internet just a couple hours later from the comfort of their homes. Usually their are only a few slots left that go to the internet, so its your best bet to register in person...well I guess not this year as they registered from home...and me I was in Lake Placid, sleep deprived but still smiling from ear to ear. I was not mad, it was just another journey in the life that is Turbo. So that was definitely an adventure, and a fun one at that. It seemed so long ago that I signed up for this race and now here we are, my friends (teammates)and about 2500 other people..just 5 weeks out from the race. Personally I've been dealing with some injuries that have hindered my running..but whatever will just see what everything is like on race day and go from there..either way I am going to have one hell of day on July 25th..I am going to be able to race with almost 3,000 people and most importantly with my fellow Train This teammates. We have all been through a great year of training together and its going to be special to see all of them on the course going after it!..and just imagine what the finish line is going to be like...the truth is I can't imagine, I am just going to soak it all in and just be in the moment...its going to be absolutely amazing!
So that was my first trip back to LP. Since then I have been up here with my friend Joe Crispino. We came up last August after we had both signed up for the race. He took me on the bike course, 2 loops, and as this was my first time doing that distance..I was rocked after it...my legs felt like they wanted to just fall off...but it was a good pain, that's for sure. Then in October I was able to have one of those long weekends with my parents (the ones we had when I was in school) up here as they came up and spent a few days in the great outdoors while I rode my bike and ran around up here in Lake Placid, that was cool! Then fast forward to Spring 2010, last weekend I was up here with my buddy Mike "Cusetri" Corona. We had a great time getting some training in, even if I about bonked off my bike while Cusetri proceeded to crush everything in sight. Oh well, I think I was just tired..I can't wait to tackle some awesome training this weekend, Ive rested up this week with minimal training and I feel that I am primed for some great training. Sidenote: Corona and his brother are racing a sprint tri this weekend and it is Corona's brothers first one ever! I wish him all the best and I hope he kicks butt! Then this weekend I am back up here in this paradise that is Lake Placid. I will be meeting up with a ton of fellow teammates from the Train This tri team that is coached by Mary Eggers. It is going to be hell of weekend. There is going to be a ton of energy from all the people..and you know what that means...it means that all the energy is going to be soaked up by me and utilized on the course...I love this stuff! Already two teammates have arrived. The original Bromantic partners (Chris and Don) arrived at about midnight to the palatial Alpine Air Motel. They had been very generous and allowed me to stay in their room last night so I was nestled in the corner of the room sleeping when they arrived. We greeted each other and then proceeded to pass back out till morning. And here I am, its about 7:20am and Im getting my coffee and breakfast in before I hit Mirror Lake for an easy morning swim to get the blood flowing. After that I believe Chris, Don, and I are going to relax by watching the USA in the FIFA world cup..honestly I am not that interested in the soccer game but it will be nice to just hang with the boys...to not have any other responsibilities other than to rest up for all the training that we will be doing this weekend. Plus I am going to work on getting my bike all set up for the weekend...yeah...I LOVE THIS STUFF!
So that's it for now folks, I am going to finish my coffee and take a dip in the lake and then chill...until 3pm when its time for 2hr bike and another 1 hr swim, followed by some serious carb loading for dinner..
btw, I just saw a guy with (no joke) a mullet, a truker hat, a mustache, cut off jean shorts (cut by himself), high white tube socks, and some old black shoes..this is all from one person...HALARIOUS!
-Explain different trips
-Explain Newton Falls Detour
-All the people on their bikes that I saw this morning alone.
Luckiest Man on the Planet
-Mirror Lake, Lake Placid - Here's the starting line where over 2,500 people will be waiting to unleash hell on the IMLP 2010 Course. It's going to be a hell of a day and I can't wait to share it will my family, my teammates, and about 2,500 of my newest freinds!
It is so hard for me to relax and just let go. Being the type of person I am, my mind is constantly working, constantly thinking about something, while this is a good thing it is also a huge crutch as I have a hard time just de-compressing and "letting go". I tend to over-think and make certain things harder than the should be. So that is a little background, a little reasoning as to why its hard for me to fall asleep most nights, why its hard to really zone in and focus on something when my full interests remain un-engaged. Mind you, if something has my full attention, like triathlon I'll be so focused on it that I won't think about anything else, which makes other things in everyday life become harder to really remain on the forefront of my importance scale.
Now that I think about it, I really must say that I am just a very OCD type person who gets locked into whatever takes my interest. I am not one to spread my dedication, my efforts, my persistence over many facets or to many projects. I tend to be singularly focused on ONE item, on ONE plan. Yes, their are pluses and minuses to this. In terms of sport and of course triathlon in particular, I believe it to be a good thing for me as it allows for dedication and focus while training at a high volume. On the other hand, in the work world it makes it very hard to remain super focused and dedicated to the job when all interest is lost. When certain things about a job make it un-appealing this makes it harder to stay driven. It's just one of those things.... I guess when I want something, I WANT IT..and I am going to find anyway I can obtain it. I think as a boss in the job world and as a coach in the athletic world that this statement is the MOST IMPORTANT ONE AND THE MOST APPLICABLE TOWARDS ACHIEVING SUCCESS in their respective field. Just think, if you are a Boss in the Corporate world and you can make each and every employee of your company want to achieve greatness, have every employee want to do their part so that the overall company succeeds...well right their is a recipe for immense prosperity and not to mention a great work environment. When everyone on a team, being athletic or work is on the same page and working towards the same goal you then have all the pieces to the pie. The employee that wants to learn and wants to do better will ALWAYS yield the greatest benefits, even more so than the higher qualified, Harvard Business School Graduate who has 10 amazing recommendations from former presidents, Fortune 500 CEO's, etc...Because when push comes to shove the person that wants to be doing the job they are doing will always put forth the best effort. And to tie this in with athletics and triathlon in particular is as easy as just realizing that the best athletes, the ones that achieve the most success, be it personal achievement or overall podium placements are the ones that are internally driven and motivated to get up at 4am and hop in that icey cold lake...or drive in the pitch black to the local Y pool and get an hour of swimming in before a 45 min run..all before they get dressed up and head to their "second-life" aka their job. These people are the ones that love the sport, love the life, and love the feeling it brings them. These are the people that will succeed, I have no doubt about that. I am not to sure where I was going with these thoughts but before I move onto other things that are rambling away in my head I will try to summarize what I was thinking. For me personally my goal is to obtain in my personal, work, and athletic life the type of drive and determination that I feel when I am racing or training. The high that I feel when I am swimming, biking, or running. Heck, even the high that I get when I finish a long work project. (Yes, even dating back to high-school and college I have felt a certain "high" when a long paper, or long accounting problem was solved). I am lucky because my new job will be providing me the opportunity to work on the things that I am interested in. The work is going to give me the chance to tackle problem, but problems that have answers..so all I have to do is think and search for the answers. I like that! I am very very excited to take on these tasks and prove to not only my co-workers but to myself that I am capable and I am an important beneficial asset. And one cannot forget about the personal aspect. In my life athletic and personal pretty much go hand in hand. Always has and always will be in my opinion. I do not mean to get mushy on all of you but I really can't stress how amazing the past year has been for me in this regards. Before I started this Triathlon business last June I was a different person, I was beat down from studying for tests and didn't really have to many friends surrounding me in Rochester (Thank God for my family as they have and always will be their for me). But ever since I began integrating myself into the multisport community I have had nothing but happiness and have made some amazing friendships. To many to detail in words. But since I am currently in Lake Placid about to being some IM specific training I just wanted to mention a couple people in particular that have become real friends of mine.
My coach Mary, hired as my coach. I did not previously know her but she came highly recommended. I can honestly say that this was a very good decision. She has been an extremely awesome coach for a beginner like me. She has integrated me into the world of Ironman Training and has my best interest in mind when making my training plans. She knows that I am young..and eager and that sometimes I needed to be restrained from over taxing myself. So in terms of coaching, I wouldn't want it any other way. The future is not yet written and every person is different, so I can't say what will happen next but in the Zen world its all about the "NOW" and right now I have the RIGHT coach for ME...and that's important. If you can't trust in your coach and the plan they have for you then you are not playing will a full deck. But hey that's just the coaching side of it, Mary has always become a real friend of mine. I mean she had to deal with me all week when we were in Texas, haha. I may not have known all the songs she was singing on the radio...haha. So thanks Mary.
And to continue the Bromance that my team keeps eluding to. I must say that Cusetri and his whole family have really taken me under their wing over these past few months. They have been generous enough on multiple occasions to just allow me to sleep over at their place and feed me too! It was just the natural thing to do...it just fit. It's been really cool to be able to become friends with Mike since we train really well together, I think that's hard to find. Two people, cyclists in particular are really hard to match, its not everyday that two cyclist can just meet up and be even matched right from the get-go. Yet as I say this I must confess that Mike blistered the bike portion of the last race down in Keuka Lake..averaging something like 23mph on a HILLY course..so I've got some work to do to get even with him..but hey once I heal up I think I can still shuffle the feet a little quicker..for now, so that may be my only saving grace, haha. Just kidding man...well kinda I have to have something to catch up to you when you drop the hammer on the bike. But seriously, Mike, his wife Jen, his kids Cameron, Carson, and Ashton, and even his newly-met brother Joe have all just been super cool. I always had to intrude on their lives when I come to their house (usually on a Friday night before our long Saturday ride that usually begins before college kids have come home from the bars). But they always make me feel welcome and I can honestly tell or at least I think I can tell that they genuinely enjoy having me come over. I know that I eat up their food and mess up their sheets but I guess keeping Mike company on a 6hr ride departing at 4am lets Jen feel better about his safety...yet that thought has to be taken with a grain of salt since we both had our first crash together during a 6hr ride last month..ha! So yeah, I could go on and on but I'll just say that I am thankful for this friendship...this "bromance" as my teammates call it. It's just really nice to have a good training buddy to keep you motivated to keep you on your toes, and to keep you getting faster. With that said...Mikey's coming up with his family to Lake Placid today! Mike and Jen are going to be getting some good training in and I am going to be able to tag along with Mike and hammer out some good IMLP specific training. Swimming in Mirror Lake, Biking the course, and possibly a little running on the course..while dodging the Lake Placid Marathon athletes that are up here this weekend. Maybe I will just pretend to be in the marathon and do one-loop as everyone else is on their second loop..I'd still probably get 4th or something :)
Yep, I wouldn't want it any other way. Its 7AM, I'm at the Lake Placid Starbucks on Main Street and I am BLOGGING AWAY! Its just great...if I can borrow from the award winning movie Happy Gilmore, it's my "Happy Place". It's the spot where my mind becomes clear and I can really visualize my goals and think about what I need to do to accomplish them. I have lofty goals and plans in mind and I WILL achieve them..I have the amazing support of my family!..my friends!..and myself. Not only will my external support system always be their for me but my internal support system WILL stay strong, because when push comes to shove I know I will have to dig deep..an to really tie it all in together what will allow me to dig deep internally and obtain the necessary motivation to keep the feet moving is thinking about all the external support that I have from my family and friends. I think Craig Alexander mentioned this in a recent Triathlete magazine, he said that when he really needs to dig deep he thinks about all the people that believe in him, all the people that have put their trust in his abilities and he really starts to do it for them...yet at the same time he's doing it for himself..he's just using his external support system as a tool for mustering up the internal motivation to keep his own feet moving. We are all humans and we all need support!
I had meant to write some more about my Lake Placid thoughts but I will leave those for another post. I will say that as I sit here about to hop in Mirror Lake to stretch out the swimming arms and legs before Cusetri arrives, I must say that I am ecstatic to begin what will be 3 weeks of Triathlon Training Bliss. Two weekends in Lake Placid and one weekend in Vermont. It's going to be a heck of a month and I can't wait to tackle it all. I just ask for the power that be to keep my freinds, family, teammates, and myself all happy and healthy so we can reach our full potential, because in the end isn't that what its all about? Realizing one's full potential. I think so...
Alright...time to get wet...YESYESYES!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Just your typical Awesome Day
I must admit that I am a bit lost as to what I want to write about today. When I have free time as I do now I like to come up with a theme for my blog and try to speak to that. Alas, nothing is really setting off the imaginary light bulb in my head. I shall instead describe what I have done and what I will be doing today and just go from there. I'm sure something good will come of that.
Well then, I woke up around 7:30 this morning, I had the intention of sleeping in really late but as usual I was awake and restless in my bed by 7am. I made my way over to the Midtown Athletic Club this morning to get some coffee and play on my computer. I don't normally just come over here to enjoy the club and the people but I think I might start to in the future...at least I would start getting my money's worth. It's pretty chill here in the morning, there is fresh coffee ready to be drank,there's lots of activity going on but its still nice and quite up by the cafe section. For some reason I have always found comfort when I am amongst the masses. I like being around a lot of people and a lot of activity while still being able to keep to myself...just comforting. It's also nice that while I have been sitting here I have had two really nice people that I casually know come right up to me and have a nice conversation. You've always gotta be networking right? As they say its not what you know, it's who you know. Haha..but really its been nice to just have some nice conversation with people and catch up with what they have been doing. So that's what I have been doing this morning. Enjoying people, enjoying the morning, and drinking my coffee. As for the rest of the day I think I am going to go back to the apartment and grab some breakfast and maybe watch some Hulu of a movie even...Then once I am all revved up and ready to go I am going to attack my triathlon training of a 1hr bike with some tempo efforts.
Update, its almost 10AM. I have had my coffee and ate my breakfast which consisted of 1 cup egg whites, 1/2 avacado (mmm mmm good), and a gala apple (Organic from Wegmans of course..only the best, I mean you woudn't put low test fuel in a ferrari would you?)
I write about what I am eating in the attempt to keep myself honest. I know that some people would yell at me and tell me that I am light enough but call it manorexia or whatever, I want to be about 3-5 pounds lighter. I look at this picture -->
See that tub around the belly button area...that's gotta go. That's like 2 minutes faster I can go on the run. Hopefully the ramped up training volume over the next few weeks will take care of this.
Well for now I am going to ponder about my bike ride today and see if I can't stop procrastinating and just get on the bike. It's definitely not that I don't want to ride, I DO I DO, its just that I actually have some free time today and the hardest part is deciding when GO TIME is...haha I'd expect that before noon I'll be hammering away :)
Well then, I woke up around 7:30 this morning, I had the intention of sleeping in really late but as usual I was awake and restless in my bed by 7am. I made my way over to the Midtown Athletic Club this morning to get some coffee and play on my computer. I don't normally just come over here to enjoy the club and the people but I think I might start to in the future...at least I would start getting my money's worth. It's pretty chill here in the morning, there is fresh coffee ready to be drank,there's lots of activity going on but its still nice and quite up by the cafe section. For some reason I have always found comfort when I am amongst the masses. I like being around a lot of people and a lot of activity while still being able to keep to myself...just comforting. It's also nice that while I have been sitting here I have had two really nice people that I casually know come right up to me and have a nice conversation. You've always gotta be networking right? As they say its not what you know, it's who you know. Haha..but really its been nice to just have some nice conversation with people and catch up with what they have been doing. So that's what I have been doing this morning. Enjoying people, enjoying the morning, and drinking my coffee. As for the rest of the day I think I am going to go back to the apartment and grab some breakfast and maybe watch some Hulu of a movie even...Then once I am all revved up and ready to go I am going to attack my triathlon training of a 1hr bike with some tempo efforts.
Update, its almost 10AM. I have had my coffee and ate my breakfast which consisted of 1 cup egg whites, 1/2 avacado (mmm mmm good), and a gala apple (Organic from Wegmans of course..only the best, I mean you woudn't put low test fuel in a ferrari would you?)
I write about what I am eating in the attempt to keep myself honest. I know that some people would yell at me and tell me that I am light enough but call it manorexia or whatever, I want to be about 3-5 pounds lighter. I look at this picture -->
See that tub around the belly button area...that's gotta go. That's like 2 minutes faster I can go on the run. Hopefully the ramped up training volume over the next few weeks will take care of this.
Well for now I am going to ponder about my bike ride today and see if I can't stop procrastinating and just get on the bike. It's definitely not that I don't want to ride, I DO I DO, its just that I actually have some free time today and the hardest part is deciding when GO TIME is...haha I'd expect that before noon I'll be hammering away :)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Curious Case of June 6th and The Keuka Lake Triathlon
It's June 6th, it's my Dad's birthday. Although not what I had hoped for, today was the culmination of a really great weekend. Why was it a great weekend? Let me just make a quick list since that's how I sort these things out best.
1. It was my dad's birthday, although I had to come back to Rochester after the race because I had left my work computer in Rochester and had to make sure I located it before my brain would stop wondering where i had left it, I think he had a good day watching the triathlon in the morning. I felt bad that I had to take off back to Rochester instead of spending the rest of the day and night at home but things happen and he understands. I'll be home again soon enough and make it up to him by getting a round of golf in. Back in the good ole days I'd be the one begging to go play golf but now its just so hard to find the time necessary to get a round of golf in with all the training I am into..not a bad thing, just different.
2. I had the opportunity to introduce Cusetri and his family to my parents as they were in town for the Keuka Triathlon. We all got together on the night before the race and went to one of the best place's on the lake, The Switz for dinner. Many of my friends work at the Switz so it was fun to be there among good people, in fact one of my good friends Megan was our waitress and took awesome care of all 13 of us!
3. I got to meetCusetri brother Joe. He's following in his brothers footsteps and getting into the triathlon game. But this weekend since his brother and step-sister were both racing he drew babysitting duty and took care of the three boys..I am still not sure who had the harder day..Cusetri and his wife as they swam, biked, and ran or brother Joe who ran all around with the three boys (2 of whom were dressed in full batman outfits). HA.. I was glad to meet Joe though, he was a funny dude and hopefully I will get to see him at some Triathlon's in the future and maybe we will work in collaboration to start our own online triathlon match making service.
4. It poured all Sunday morning before the race and was horrible after the race but during it the Sun came out and it was pretty much perfect.
5. I improved my swim time from last year. Good thing.
6. I flatted about 5 miles from the end of the bike or so and had to coast in on a flat rear tire. It got to a point about 1/2 a mile away where carbon touched the pavement so at that point I jumped off and carried the thing in barefoot. I got some good cheering out of that..I guess it made up for all the time lost, oh well no harm done to body or bike so all is good!
7. Achilles started to get sore at the beginning of the run so I held back and cruised through the 6.2 miles. I had the great opportunity to catch up with Cusetri and cross the finish line at the same time he did...although he started the race 5 minutes after the race..so yeah Cusetri-1, TurboCurbo-0. So be it, we both lived to see another race and to train another day. And if I had not flatted we wouldn't have finished at the same time, which was way cool. So I think all in all it was a pretty awesome race. A good day for training and racing fun!
8. The Achilles seems to be in good shape a day after the race. I am probably most happy about this since I desperately want to get back to 100%.
9. On Sunday night my mom told me that she had found a place for me to stay at Placid this weekend.
10. Oh yeah, in regards to #9. I am beginning my month of triathlon training camps by going to Placid on Thursday. I will be staying at the Art Devlin's Olympic Motor in on Main Street and training with the one and only Cusetri. Boy he sure makes it in my blog a lot....and the Bromance continues...as the Bostonians say, "It's going to be a wicked awesome weekend" with lots of biking and swimming, and maybe a touch of running for me:) I absolutely love, LOVE, being in Lake Placid. It's just the coolest most relaxing place. I can't wait to just wake up, go to starbucks, drink coffee, write a blog, and ramp up for the day ahead. Oh yeah its gonna be awesome! Some serious MOJO building will be accomplished.
11. This upcoming weekend is just the beginning. This weekend is placid with Cusetri, next weekend is Placid again with my fellow Train-This teammates, and the weekend after that I am heading to Ludlow, VT for a training camp (Placid Specific) hosted by QT2, which is the team that my Coach Mary Eggers is on.
12. It's Monday at 5PM, I got a swim in this morning, had some therapy on the ankle, ate a nice $6 meal at wegmans for lunch, obtained new tires for my bike and placed them on the wheels so I am ready to get back in the saddle tomorrow, and I will be heading to Yoga in about 2 hours...Life is Good.
1. It was my dad's birthday, although I had to come back to Rochester after the race because I had left my work computer in Rochester and had to make sure I located it before my brain would stop wondering where i had left it, I think he had a good day watching the triathlon in the morning. I felt bad that I had to take off back to Rochester instead of spending the rest of the day and night at home but things happen and he understands. I'll be home again soon enough and make it up to him by getting a round of golf in. Back in the good ole days I'd be the one begging to go play golf but now its just so hard to find the time necessary to get a round of golf in with all the training I am into..not a bad thing, just different.
2. I had the opportunity to introduce Cusetri and his family to my parents as they were in town for the Keuka Triathlon. We all got together on the night before the race and went to one of the best place's on the lake, The Switz for dinner. Many of my friends work at the Switz so it was fun to be there among good people, in fact one of my good friends Megan was our waitress and took awesome care of all 13 of us!
3. I got to meetCusetri brother Joe. He's following in his brothers footsteps and getting into the triathlon game. But this weekend since his brother and step-sister were both racing he drew babysitting duty and took care of the three boys..I am still not sure who had the harder day..Cusetri and his wife as they swam, biked, and ran or brother Joe who ran all around with the three boys (2 of whom were dressed in full batman outfits). HA.. I was glad to meet Joe though, he was a funny dude and hopefully I will get to see him at some Triathlon's in the future and maybe we will work in collaboration to start our own online triathlon match making service.
4. It poured all Sunday morning before the race and was horrible after the race but during it the Sun came out and it was pretty much perfect.
5. I improved my swim time from last year. Good thing.
6. I flatted about 5 miles from the end of the bike or so and had to coast in on a flat rear tire. It got to a point about 1/2 a mile away where carbon touched the pavement so at that point I jumped off and carried the thing in barefoot. I got some good cheering out of that..I guess it made up for all the time lost, oh well no harm done to body or bike so all is good!
7. Achilles started to get sore at the beginning of the run so I held back and cruised through the 6.2 miles. I had the great opportunity to catch up with Cusetri and cross the finish line at the same time he did...although he started the race 5 minutes after the race..so yeah Cusetri-1, TurboCurbo-0. So be it, we both lived to see another race and to train another day. And if I had not flatted we wouldn't have finished at the same time, which was way cool. So I think all in all it was a pretty awesome race. A good day for training and racing fun!
8. The Achilles seems to be in good shape a day after the race. I am probably most happy about this since I desperately want to get back to 100%.
9. On Sunday night my mom told me that she had found a place for me to stay at Placid this weekend.
10. Oh yeah, in regards to #9. I am beginning my month of triathlon training camps by going to Placid on Thursday. I will be staying at the Art Devlin's Olympic Motor in on Main Street and training with the one and only Cusetri. Boy he sure makes it in my blog a lot....and the Bromance continues...as the Bostonians say, "It's going to be a wicked awesome weekend" with lots of biking and swimming, and maybe a touch of running for me:) I absolutely love, LOVE, being in Lake Placid. It's just the coolest most relaxing place. I can't wait to just wake up, go to starbucks, drink coffee, write a blog, and ramp up for the day ahead. Oh yeah its gonna be awesome! Some serious MOJO building will be accomplished.
11. This upcoming weekend is just the beginning. This weekend is placid with Cusetri, next weekend is Placid again with my fellow Train-This teammates, and the weekend after that I am heading to Ludlow, VT for a training camp (Placid Specific) hosted by QT2, which is the team that my Coach Mary Eggers is on.
12. It's Monday at 5PM, I got a swim in this morning, had some therapy on the ankle, ate a nice $6 meal at wegmans for lunch, obtained new tires for my bike and placed them on the wheels so I am ready to get back in the saddle tomorrow, and I will be heading to Yoga in about 2 hours...Life is Good.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
T3D
Its Saturday afternoon, I have a race tomorrow and like always I can just sit and nap. I have some innate ability to resist being tired when I need to just chill out. I guess i have just way to much energy pent up from not being able to run and everything this past month. I guess that means that I am ready to race and ready to tackle my biggest training month ever this month!
Ready to roll!
Total train this domination tomorrow people. T3D
Ready to roll!
Total train this domination tomorrow people. T3D
Let's the Games Begin!
So here's the program people. There has been a good deal of "things" going on in my life over the past month. It seems like as soon as may came around my body decided to go bezerk and work took an interesting turn. As far as my body, my right lower leg has been giving me a good deal of pain and stress as the healing process is slow. I haven't been able to run and that alone gets at me. I see people everyday cut jogging and that alone makes me jealous of them, but all has not been lost as I have been able to stay on my bike with relatively no pain. The necessary healing is truly s process and one that I hope will be over shortly and after that I will be very cautious as to take extrememky good care of my achilles area so that something like this doesn't happen again.
But enough about this. You might be wondering what the heck is going on with my life lately. I had a post the other day that eluded to a "Big Day" I was having. Well if you have all been even mildly following my blog this past year you will know that work hasn't always been peachy. There were times I wanted to crack but nonetheless I perservered and got though it. So as of yesterday I have made a job change and I will be moving to another firm within the Rochester area staring on July 6th. This new job is a fresh start for me, it offers an opportunity to work withing the personal tax line of work, which is what interests me. The learning and growth opportunities are their and I am eager to see where it takes me! Along with the good news on the work front I can say that over the next month the triathlon scene will be booming for me as well. I am racing this weekend back home on Keuka Lake, then over the next three weeks I am planning on being in lake placid twice and Vermont for one weekend. All these trips will be triathlon based as they are all going to be all-inclusive triathlon training camps! I am very lucky to have friends who are going to placid, a team that's going to placid, and lucky enough also to have been asked to go to Vermont with another team at their lake placid based training camp.
It's going to be an exciting month! I look forward to getting healthy and getting strong and really starting to zone in on the lake placid race that is ahead. It's going to be fun and i cant wait to share my journey.
But enough about this. You might be wondering what the heck is going on with my life lately. I had a post the other day that eluded to a "Big Day" I was having. Well if you have all been even mildly following my blog this past year you will know that work hasn't always been peachy. There were times I wanted to crack but nonetheless I perservered and got though it. So as of yesterday I have made a job change and I will be moving to another firm within the Rochester area staring on July 6th. This new job is a fresh start for me, it offers an opportunity to work withing the personal tax line of work, which is what interests me. The learning and growth opportunities are their and I am eager to see where it takes me! Along with the good news on the work front I can say that over the next month the triathlon scene will be booming for me as well. I am racing this weekend back home on Keuka Lake, then over the next three weeks I am planning on being in lake placid twice and Vermont for one weekend. All these trips will be triathlon based as they are all going to be all-inclusive triathlon training camps! I am very lucky to have friends who are going to placid, a team that's going to placid, and lucky enough also to have been asked to go to Vermont with another team at their lake placid based training camp.
It's going to be an exciting month! I look forward to getting healthy and getting strong and really starting to zone in on the lake placid race that is ahead. It's going to be fun and i cant wait to share my journey.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Open water swimming - 3 Loops Before 630am :)
I'm an early riser. I was up at 4am today to get down to canandaigua lake for a morning group swim at kershaw park. In reality I woke up around 1am to eat some food and I never really got back to sleep after that. I mostly laid in my bed in the most uncomfortable positions that I could come up with, I was not trying to do so it just seemed every pillow position was the wrong one..until about 315 am when i finally caught some good shuteye...then all of the sudden it was 4am And time to get up, what gives!
Anyways, I am now down at Tim hortons by canandaigua lake. It's 5am now. This is actually my second stop at a Tim hortons this morning. I actually stopped at the victor location to get my coffee so I could get that slowing through my system ASAP. So now I am just using their wireless Internet and bot buying anything. But i bought coffee and a muffin at the other spot this morning so i feel that my usage of their Internet Is justified. But I tell ya, I've got a confession go make. Idk what it is but sometimes the carb monster gets me and this morning was one of those times. When I got up at 1am and I was hungry I didn't turn to a glass of water or something to curb the feeling i instead made a bowl of instant oatmeal I had laying to around, the cinnamon roll kind...it just looked so tasty and put a scoop of protein in their as well and went to town on it, then I had a powerbar..oatmeal raisin style. It was just to tasty in my mind to not finish eating...then at tim hortons at like 415am I had a whole grain blueberry muffin with my coffee...what gives! Oh well, I guess its just a little head start to my mini carb load for the race this weekend. It's just an olympic distance so no need to go all out with the carbs but I will definitely top the tank off with a nice diner style breakfast tomorrow. As some of my teammates have mentioned they are gathering to eat at IHOP tomorrow morning, I was going to head basic home tonight but I may hold off and go to IHoP but I may also go home and have my big breakfast at a local breakfast place called the Wagner. It's a hometown restaurant that specializes in bfast. I've had many a good meal their with my buddies... But who knows where I will be tomorrow morning, only time will tell.
Well I wrote the above section before I swam this morning as I was sitting inside Tim Hortons, waiting for nature to take its course (don't you love how candid I am). So after getting to the lake and meeting up with some fellow teammates (Coach Mary was a little tardy, in fact I didn't even get to talk to her as I jumped in the water before she was in and when I came out everyone was gone!) Yeah so I swam 3 loops down at Kershaw this morning, I think most people only did 1 loop so I was on my own little vision quest, I intended on only doing 2 loops but after two loops I figured I'd just cool down and do maybe a 1/4 loop or something, well one thing led to another and I just felt very peaceful in the smooth as glass water so I kept chugging along. I did however get to see Mr. Eddie Fat Tire as I was exiting the water and he was entering. It appears he was a bit of a late riser as well..good to see him out there getting after it though! I also saw a fellow whom I had previously met a couple weeks ago while on a bike ride in the Bristol area. I think his first name is Peter...Peter W. I think, I apologize for not knowing exactly but I am kind of bad with names, some things stick in my head and some don't, please don't take offense. But yeah, he is getting ready to head out west and do the Coeur d'Alene Ironman so he's getting ramped up for the big boy this month. He seemed like a pretty good dude, I wish him luck at the race...judging by his nice Felt TT bike he looks like he knows what he is doing so I can tell he will smoke the course :)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
It's a Big Day Today
I've got some things going on today that could lead to some good times in the future. I am hopeful that all will go well and I know that if I am just myself things will fall in place. Life is to short to not be happy and today I am in search of a happiness.
I will of course let everyone know in due course whats going on but for now out of superstition I am going to keep my mouth shut. As my loyal followers please do not worry, what I am speaking about is good,whatever the outcome may be. On the other hand though any good CHI you could send my way for the recovery of my Achilles would be very very welcome!
It feels like a lifetime since I have been able to train "normally". It seems that every since the end of March I have been dealing with something. April was a month to heal up fast in prep for Texas, that went pretty well, I was able to race pain free and I thought I was on track to ramp up training come May. However that plan was derailed by a leg/Achilles area injury that has been hanging around since about May 2nd. I think I said yesterday that I rode about 1,000 miles last month and rain 6.5 miles (all on May 2nd), truly a milestone and probably the reason why this week I have been in a bit of a fog, today is the first day I feel "back to normal"...I ended up taking yesterday off completely. I just needed a break, I went to bed at 7pm and woke up at 7am feeling refreshed. I also went and saw Kenny the magic man (aka my Chiropractor) who did some work on my leg and informed me that I shouldn't have waited so long to come and see him. But to my defense I had been in his office about a week and a half before. I didn't want to overdo my visits to him so I wanted to take some time off and see how my healing process would go. Well it seemed to be going quite well, I mean I was maintaining good biking volume with minimal pain and my recovery was becoming much quicker in the leg area. I really do feel that my biking is going to be benefited by the specialization in that area over the past month, but I can't help wondering if not biking at all would have been better. Obviously a doctor is going to say, Yes you should have just stopped completely for a month, but I am an athlete that has a delicate mind/well-being and If I had to stop everything for a month I think the damage to my psyche could have been even worse. But either way, the past is behind me. I know and trying to get race ready by Sunday. If I am not good to go I will pull the plug, I've got to much invested into this Ironman business to screw it up with an Olympic distance race, even though it is a hometown race. If it wasn't in my hometown I prolly would have pulled the plug already but I am going to give it my best. I have already sacrificed running in the Corporate Challenge 3.5 run tonight, that wasn't hard though. Running with almost 9k people isn't exactly a pleasure. I will still go and hang out with co-workers but I will be wearing my train-this apparel (Jacket and sweats..you know it) cheering on my friends as I see them pass. It's funny because I think this is the first race I will actually attend where I am not running (even if its just a 3.5 running race). It's kind of like those recovery bike rides where you get to enjoy the great outdoors and aren't driven by your garmin and what numbers you need to hit. Those rides with friends are just plain fun and its important to keep a good mix of that, at least for me it is. Sundays have kind of become that for me. I try to meet up with old and new friends and incorporate my training in with them. When that sort of thing works out its great, like last Sunday when I rode with my friend Jay. We may not be biking at the same level due to training and such but I was able to incorporate a ride of over 1.5hrs with him without sacrificing a darn thing. If you cannot get out and enjoy people and enjoy being on a bike than you need to change something because a breakdown is just bound to happen. I suffered a minor collapse yesterday when I pulled the plug on a 30 minute swim, I mean in reality I had about 1 hr's worth of biking, a 30 min swim, and a 30 min run on tap for yesterday and today. Doing these workouts would not help me become faster or make me any more ready for the race on Sunday...so I'm trying to play it smart and just chill..just relax and not worry about missing a planned workout. Rest and recovery is just to paramount to the grand scheme. If I can't race in Placid it would be pretty darn disappointing.
I had more written in here but it seems my computer did not save these thoughts. Therefore, I am just going to post what I have right now.
I will of course let everyone know in due course whats going on but for now out of superstition I am going to keep my mouth shut. As my loyal followers please do not worry, what I am speaking about is good,whatever the outcome may be. On the other hand though any good CHI you could send my way for the recovery of my Achilles would be very very welcome!
It feels like a lifetime since I have been able to train "normally". It seems that every since the end of March I have been dealing with something. April was a month to heal up fast in prep for Texas, that went pretty well, I was able to race pain free and I thought I was on track to ramp up training come May. However that plan was derailed by a leg/Achilles area injury that has been hanging around since about May 2nd. I think I said yesterday that I rode about 1,000 miles last month and rain 6.5 miles (all on May 2nd), truly a milestone and probably the reason why this week I have been in a bit of a fog, today is the first day I feel "back to normal"...I ended up taking yesterday off completely. I just needed a break, I went to bed at 7pm and woke up at 7am feeling refreshed. I also went and saw Kenny the magic man (aka my Chiropractor) who did some work on my leg and informed me that I shouldn't have waited so long to come and see him. But to my defense I had been in his office about a week and a half before. I didn't want to overdo my visits to him so I wanted to take some time off and see how my healing process would go. Well it seemed to be going quite well, I mean I was maintaining good biking volume with minimal pain and my recovery was becoming much quicker in the leg area. I really do feel that my biking is going to be benefited by the specialization in that area over the past month, but I can't help wondering if not biking at all would have been better. Obviously a doctor is going to say, Yes you should have just stopped completely for a month, but I am an athlete that has a delicate mind/well-being and If I had to stop everything for a month I think the damage to my psyche could have been even worse. But either way, the past is behind me. I know and trying to get race ready by Sunday. If I am not good to go I will pull the plug, I've got to much invested into this Ironman business to screw it up with an Olympic distance race, even though it is a hometown race. If it wasn't in my hometown I prolly would have pulled the plug already but I am going to give it my best. I have already sacrificed running in the Corporate Challenge 3.5 run tonight, that wasn't hard though. Running with almost 9k people isn't exactly a pleasure. I will still go and hang out with co-workers but I will be wearing my train-this apparel (Jacket and sweats..you know it) cheering on my friends as I see them pass. It's funny because I think this is the first race I will actually attend where I am not running (even if its just a 3.5 running race). It's kind of like those recovery bike rides where you get to enjoy the great outdoors and aren't driven by your garmin and what numbers you need to hit. Those rides with friends are just plain fun and its important to keep a good mix of that, at least for me it is. Sundays have kind of become that for me. I try to meet up with old and new friends and incorporate my training in with them. When that sort of thing works out its great, like last Sunday when I rode with my friend Jay. We may not be biking at the same level due to training and such but I was able to incorporate a ride of over 1.5hrs with him without sacrificing a darn thing. If you cannot get out and enjoy people and enjoy being on a bike than you need to change something because a breakdown is just bound to happen. I suffered a minor collapse yesterday when I pulled the plug on a 30 minute swim, I mean in reality I had about 1 hr's worth of biking, a 30 min swim, and a 30 min run on tap for yesterday and today. Doing these workouts would not help me become faster or make me any more ready for the race on Sunday...so I'm trying to play it smart and just chill..just relax and not worry about missing a planned workout. Rest and recovery is just to paramount to the grand scheme. If I can't race in Placid it would be pretty darn disappointing.
I had more written in here but it seems my computer did not save these thoughts. Therefore, I am just going to post what I have right now.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
It's a process
I woke up this morning at 5am with the intention of heading to the pool and getting a "Swim Test" in. 300 yard warmup followed by two all out 400's for time, with a little rest in between. When I got up I threw down some good (a banana with a scoop of protein and some honey and choc syrup for flavor..along with the coffee). But after eating and drinking the coffee I still just wasn't feeling it so I headed back to my bed and slept until 8am. Oh well, sometimes your body just needs some rest. Luckily the weather seems to be great today and I am planning on heading to the pool after work tonight. Sometimes my PM workouts aren't all that great since sitting in an office just zaps my energy but either way at least I will get to splash around in the pool. Plus a teammate of mine is going to be there tonight as well and she said that she would time my swim tests, hopefully this will motivate me to swim really fast!
As for yesterday I also got some good training in at night. I slept back in PY on Monday night since it was going to be rainy in both PY and Rochester, so an AM bike ride was not in the cards for me. Thus I was able to spend some more time with the parents at home and sleep in a comfortable setting...good for the mind! The weather was on my side and turned beautiful during the day, drying the roads and everything. So after work I headed out to Mendon Ponds Park as to avoid dealing with traffic on my way out of the city. I rode my bike for an hour with some tempo intervals..the speed and power was there but the legs were feeling heavy, I think they are still recovering from the previous weekend and weekends before that...May was a big month. I put in just about 1k of miles on the bike...that was cool. But I really wish I had been able to run! I am dying to get back to that. Which brings me to my next point, I was able to run for 25 minutes last night. It wasn't fast but it was relatively pain free. The Achilles still felt very tight compared to the left one but the pain wasn't so intense that it prevented me from running, in fact their were points where I didn't feel as if anything was different, but the downhills brought back some of the soreness. Other than losing my car opener thingy-ma-bob it was a good night. (I ended up finding the damn remote after about 30 minutes of retracing my steps..not cool! All I wanted to do was stretch after the run and get off my feet, but instead I had to walk all over to find the darn thing. And yes it ended up being only about 200 yards from my car...I walked about a mile in total looking for it..oh well!) I woke up this morning and the leg was feeling alright, not 100% yet but its definitely recovering much faster. Hopefully over the next few days I will see some more improvement. I'm still really hoping to put in a good effort down at Keuka this weekend.
As for yesterday I also got some good training in at night. I slept back in PY on Monday night since it was going to be rainy in both PY and Rochester, so an AM bike ride was not in the cards for me. Thus I was able to spend some more time with the parents at home and sleep in a comfortable setting...good for the mind! The weather was on my side and turned beautiful during the day, drying the roads and everything. So after work I headed out to Mendon Ponds Park as to avoid dealing with traffic on my way out of the city. I rode my bike for an hour with some tempo intervals..the speed and power was there but the legs were feeling heavy, I think they are still recovering from the previous weekend and weekends before that...May was a big month. I put in just about 1k of miles on the bike...that was cool. But I really wish I had been able to run! I am dying to get back to that. Which brings me to my next point, I was able to run for 25 minutes last night. It wasn't fast but it was relatively pain free. The Achilles still felt very tight compared to the left one but the pain wasn't so intense that it prevented me from running, in fact their were points where I didn't feel as if anything was different, but the downhills brought back some of the soreness. Other than losing my car opener thingy-ma-bob it was a good night. (I ended up finding the damn remote after about 30 minutes of retracing my steps..not cool! All I wanted to do was stretch after the run and get off my feet, but instead I had to walk all over to find the darn thing. And yes it ended up being only about 200 yards from my car...I walked about a mile in total looking for it..oh well!) I woke up this morning and the leg was feeling alright, not 100% yet but its definitely recovering much faster. Hopefully over the next few days I will see some more improvement. I'm still really hoping to put in a good effort down at Keuka this weekend.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Memorial Day Weekend
New Lance vs. Vintage Lance 
How cool is that picture! There is just so much to say about this picture, I guess the old saying of "A picture holds a thousands words" holds true. I will begin by saying that I was so pumped to see my good friend Jay cycling on down the road towards my parents office. He was meeting me there and we would be taking a loop of the Lake Keuka Triathlon course, a little catching-up time coupled with some reconnaissance work for the following weekend. Well as he pulled into the parking lot at my parents office I was elated to see that he was rocking the old school Team Postal Service Kit! As luck would have it I myself was sporting the new RadioShack Team Kit that I had received for my birthday. (Such nice parents I have) I was a full on billboard for a newbie-cyclist. I mean just look at that picture, I've got the hat, the jersey, the bibs, the armwarmers, the socks(not shown in picture), and I am even wearing my Livestrong Giro Helmet that I have...the only thing I am missing are my Oakley Livestrong Jawbones (which were taking the weekend off back at my apartment). TO FUNNY! But I have truly fallen in love with cycling and everything about it so for all you haters out there...DEAL WITH IT! You can mock me all you want, You can make fun of my white tights! (Mary) but I will chuckle inside my head when all 148lbs of me charges ahead of you on an uphill. (I won't go there about downhills descents, or pancake flat stretches...my weight advantage goes on out the door their)...but hey like they say "If you look good, you play good". I firmly believe that athletics and Triathlon in specific is heavily weighted towards mental toughness as opposed to full on god given ability and this is increased as the length of the races increase. Sure you can run a 30 minute 10k, or bike a 5hr 112 miles, or swim 2.4 miles in 50 minutes...but can you can you do all of them on the same day, one after another? It's a different ballgame Since I have never run a marathon nor run a marathon after swimming 2.4 and biking 112, the words I say here are spoken from someone speaking about the unknown. I've got to imagine that during the marathon leg of an ironman, even for the pro's, that there is a good portion of the run where you are dealing with your inner demons. Dealing with pains that may be creeping up in your legs, or the sun that's pounding down on your bare shoulders, or the pain on the outside of your left foot from the pressure you've placed on it during the bike along with the blister that has formed on the first loop of the course. From the bits and pieces of stories I have heard, its the bike that counts, its about pacing the bike and getting to the marathon with gas in the tank. It's about jumping off the bike and sticking to a plan for 20 miles, find your comfort zone and bear hug that darn pace...don't let anyone get in your way, don't let any doubts invade your brain. With this said I must say that as of June 1, 2010 I am a tad nervous A. About the swim at LP since its a mass cluster start that really scares me..I need to be nearish the front at the start (obviously Im not a fish in the water...yet! but I feel I can perform at a decent level) so I want to be in the mix, I want to fight my way to a good line and somehow locate that darn white line on the second loop. I'm going to latch on to the draft of a faster swimmer and let them drag me...along with the other 2k people that, will be swimming, hopefully a nice current will be created!
Geez...I got way off topic. Back to talking about my good friend Jay. Aside from wearing a Lance Armstrong Postal Service Kit, there are just so many things to say about this guy. Jay was not only my Freshman and JV basketball coach (Back when I was a stud b ball player because I had not been dwarfed by everyone else when they got taller and stronger and more skillful, but I could shoot..just ask Jay, he can confirm that I indeed dropped 37 points against Sodus when I was a freshman) Jay also was the person who first got me into the sport of triathlon. Way back when I was still in high school. He ran the Keuka Lake Tri for a couple years and it was then when I did a couple sprint triathlons. Due to baseball and college and other things I never got into the sport back then but it was at least an introduction. I had an awesome time doing them and thinking back I wish I had just thrown myself right into the sport..but their were other things going on in my life back then. Besides the fact that riding my bike for over an hour seemed like an eternity. It's funny that as I circled the Keuka Lake Olympic course (Twice)on Sunday I thought about how when I began to ride a bike only a year ago that riding the sprint course, a distance of about half of the Olympic..It felt sooo long. But now riding for 3 hours is just well...normal. I love that! So thanks Jay, thanks for introducing me to this wonderful sport. Sorry I skipped out for a few years, but I am back and I am here for GOOD!
How cool is that picture! There is just so much to say about this picture, I guess the old saying of "A picture holds a thousands words" holds true. I will begin by saying that I was so pumped to see my good friend Jay cycling on down the road towards my parents office. He was meeting me there and we would be taking a loop of the Lake Keuka Triathlon course, a little catching-up time coupled with some reconnaissance work for the following weekend. Well as he pulled into the parking lot at my parents office I was elated to see that he was rocking the old school Team Postal Service Kit! As luck would have it I myself was sporting the new RadioShack Team Kit that I had received for my birthday. (Such nice parents I have) I was a full on billboard for a newbie-cyclist. I mean just look at that picture, I've got the hat, the jersey, the bibs, the armwarmers, the socks(not shown in picture), and I am even wearing my Livestrong Giro Helmet that I have...the only thing I am missing are my Oakley Livestrong Jawbones (which were taking the weekend off back at my apartment). TO FUNNY! But I have truly fallen in love with cycling and everything about it so for all you haters out there...DEAL WITH IT! You can mock me all you want, You can make fun of my white tights! (Mary) but I will chuckle inside my head when all 148lbs of me charges ahead of you on an uphill. (I won't go there about downhills descents, or pancake flat stretches...my weight advantage goes on out the door their)...but hey like they say "If you look good, you play good". I firmly believe that athletics and Triathlon in specific is heavily weighted towards mental toughness as opposed to full on god given ability and this is increased as the length of the races increase. Sure you can run a 30 minute 10k, or bike a 5hr 112 miles, or swim 2.4 miles in 50 minutes...but can you can you do all of them on the same day, one after another? It's a different ballgame Since I have never run a marathon nor run a marathon after swimming 2.4 and biking 112, the words I say here are spoken from someone speaking about the unknown. I've got to imagine that during the marathon leg of an ironman, even for the pro's, that there is a good portion of the run where you are dealing with your inner demons. Dealing with pains that may be creeping up in your legs, or the sun that's pounding down on your bare shoulders, or the pain on the outside of your left foot from the pressure you've placed on it during the bike along with the blister that has formed on the first loop of the course. From the bits and pieces of stories I have heard, its the bike that counts, its about pacing the bike and getting to the marathon with gas in the tank. It's about jumping off the bike and sticking to a plan for 20 miles, find your comfort zone and bear hug that darn pace...don't let anyone get in your way, don't let any doubts invade your brain. With this said I must say that as of June 1, 2010 I am a tad nervous A. About the swim at LP since its a mass cluster start that really scares me..I need to be nearish the front at the start (obviously Im not a fish in the water...yet! but I feel I can perform at a decent level) so I want to be in the mix, I want to fight my way to a good line and somehow locate that darn white line on the second loop. I'm going to latch on to the draft of a faster swimmer and let them drag me...along with the other 2k people that, will be swimming, hopefully a nice current will be created!
Geez...I got way off topic. Back to talking about my good friend Jay. Aside from wearing a Lance Armstrong Postal Service Kit, there are just so many things to say about this guy. Jay was not only my Freshman and JV basketball coach (Back when I was a stud b ball player because I had not been dwarfed by everyone else when they got taller and stronger and more skillful, but I could shoot..just ask Jay, he can confirm that I indeed dropped 37 points against Sodus when I was a freshman) Jay also was the person who first got me into the sport of triathlon. Way back when I was still in high school. He ran the Keuka Lake Tri for a couple years and it was then when I did a couple sprint triathlons. Due to baseball and college and other things I never got into the sport back then but it was at least an introduction. I had an awesome time doing them and thinking back I wish I had just thrown myself right into the sport..but their were other things going on in my life back then. Besides the fact that riding my bike for over an hour seemed like an eternity. It's funny that as I circled the Keuka Lake Olympic course (Twice)on Sunday I thought about how when I began to ride a bike only a year ago that riding the sprint course, a distance of about half of the Olympic..It felt sooo long. But now riding for 3 hours is just well...normal. I love that! So thanks Jay, thanks for introducing me to this wonderful sport. Sorry I skipped out for a few years, but I am back and I am here for GOOD!
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